Dispenser for folded sheets



Jgn. 14, 1936. F. 1.. BROEREN 2,027,674

DISPENSER FOR FOLDED SHEETS Filed Aug. 28, 1935 Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFECE DISPENSER FOR FOLDED SHEETS Application August 28, 1935, Serial No. 38,151

1 Claim.

This dispenser in the form shown is designed primarily for use in connection with the dispensing singly of folded paper sheets intended for use by the attendants at oil filling stations,

I for the purpose of wiping oil drippings or dust from a car or for like service, although the features to be described are adapted for incorporation into the structure of dispensers designed for other purposes.

The dispenser is designed to deliver the folded sheets singly from a stack, each sheet being folded to afford a body portion of full dimensions and a free grasping tab adapted to be presented through the dispensing slot in position to be grasped between the thumb and fingers of the user. Sheets of this character may be folded in various ways and with any number of plies desired, provided only that a free grasping tab of lesser dimensions than the body of the folded sheet is provided.

The present invention is directed primarily to the formation of the dispensing slot and the configuration afforded to prevent the displacement of succeeding sheets during the withdrawal of the outermost sheet. The invention also relates to the general structure of the dispenser and the method of hinging one of the sections thereof to afford easy and convenient means for opening the dispenser to permit replenishment thereof.

Further objects and details will appear from a description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein-,-

Figure l is an end elevation of the dispenser, showing in dotted lines the upper section thereof turned down to afford access to the interior;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view of the slotted panel through which the sheets are dispensed; and

Fig. 4 is a detail showing the means for suspending the dispenser from a convenient support.

The dispenser as a whole comprises a bottom section It and a top section l l, which sections are hinged upon pivots 2 at the forward lower corners to permit the upper section to be swung down into the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The bottom section includes a dished base section rectangular in plan having a front flange l3, a rear flange M, end flanges i5, and a slotted bottom panel l6, having a slot or aperture ill through which the folded sheets are withdrawn. The bottom section also includes a back wall it! of rectangular formation, which is offset inwardly by the provision of a shoulder 59 to fit within the flanges of the base portion, and the back wall at its upper edge is provided with an inwardly extending flange 2a. The back wall unites with substantially triangular end walls 2| which increase in width downwardly and fit within the end flanges of the base portion being provided with an inwardly shouldered offset 22, which constitutes a continuation of the shoulder it.

The lower section itself is without a front wall, being closed by the top section II which is of complementary formation to the bottom section to give the dispenser as a whole a boxlike configuration. The top section is integrally formed and its edges overlap the bottom section so that it serves to shed rain and keep the contents perfectly dry.

The top section includes a front wall 23, the lower edge of which overlaps the front flange I3, and a top wall 2 3, the rear edge of which overlaps the flange 28. Triangular end walls 25 are provided which overlap the obliquely disposed front edges of the end walls of the bottom section, so that when the sections are closed as in Figs. 1 and 2, the edges of the upper section will overlap the edges of the lower section throughout. The end walls 25 of the upper section at the lower forward corner are cut away to afford tongues 26 which receive the pivots l2. In order to hold the upper and lower sections in closed relation, a latch is provided which comprises a stem 28 entered through the top wall it and provided at its end with wings 29 which may be turned by a cross handle 30 to underlie the flange 2!! Which holds the parts in closed relation.

As shown, the dispenser is suspended from a plate 3i having headed studs 32 entered through bayonet slots 33 in the wall [3, although the dispenser may be suspended in any other suitable or convenient manner. The slot or aperture [1, which constitutes one of the special features of the present invention, is formed in the following manner:

The lower panel is, on its rear side, is outwardly protruded to provide an outwardly diverging pocket 34 terminating in a straight outer lip 35 which constitutes one of the margins of the slot ii.

The panel on the opposite side of the slot is inturned at its center portion to aiford an obliquely extending flange 36 terminating in a marginal lip 31 which is inwardly and upwardly bowed to afford a medial crest 38, from which point the lip recedes in a curving line, outwardly and downwardly, until it merges into the general plane of the panel near the edges thereof, thus Cir forming a corner recession 39 at each end of the opening where the upper lip merges into the end edges 40 of the opening, which edges bow outwardly to connect with and merge into the lower lip 35. The configuration is one which gives to the upper lip both its greatest elevation and its greatest inward protrusion at or near the center crest, so that this center portionof the lip alone will normally bear against the body 4| of a folded paper sheet having a free grasping tab 42 of lesser width than the body to permit it to clear the crest 38 of the upper lip.

In order to hold the stacked sheets at a proper level at their opposite edges, 2, flange 43 is provided on the inner face of the pocketed portion of the panel H5. The formation of the inwardly and centrally protruding upper lip of the dispensing slot, in the manner described, limits the contact of the lip against the outermost sheet of the stack to the central region and at a point beyond the free edge of the grasping tab, so that the latter will fall freely through the slot and rest upon the lower lip thereof in position for removal. As the outermost sheet is removed by drawing outwardly on the tab, it will draw back along the outer surface of the tab of the next succeeding folded sheet, and in its operation there is occasionally a tendency for the sheets to adhere more or less, which tends to displace the tab of the succeeding sheet and bring it behind the margin of the upper lip and in position to be caught thereby, so that it will prevent its falling down into grasping position within the slot.

By forming the lip with an upwardly and inwardly protuberant center of the character described, the surface presented for contact will be reduced so that the tendency to catch and hold the grasping'tab and prevent its release will be overcome. At the same time the inward protrusion of the upper lip brings the point of support well toward the center of the stack, so that there will be no appreciable tendency for the sheets to sag down into the region immediately adjacent the dispensing slot.

The recession of the upper lip toward the outer edges thereof brings these portions of the lip out of direct contact with the sheets, which contact is confined to the elevated center region of the lip, so that the edges of the sheets will release freely and with minimum friction as the sheets are being withdrawn.

The pocketed formation of the panel adjacent the lower lip is one which provides considerable space for the release of the lowermost grasping tab, and the separated relation of the upper and lower lips with respect to one. another affords a widely extended aperture for the easy manipulation of the sheets.

The formation of the body of the container is one which permits the top or cover portion thereof to be swung down into suspended relation with the upper portion, which completely exposes the back and bottom of the container and thus facilitates the introduction and positioning of a stack of sheets. Although the dispenser as shown is positioned to feed the sheets downwardly without the use of weights, follower plates or the like, it will be understood that the dispenser might be so positioned as to present the slotted panel forwardly, in which case the folded sheets of the stack would stand vertically with the grasping tabs presented upwardly and outwardly, as is the common practice in dispensers of this general character. In such cases it may be desirable. to provide follower means of any well known and conventional form, which, however, form no part of the present invention and need not be specifically described.

Although the invention has been described with particularity as to detail, it is not the intention to limit the invention strictly to the device as shown, since modifications may be. made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A dispenser for sheets folded to each provide a grasping tab of less width than the body compris-' ing a box-like container having its lower wall in the form of a panel provided with an elongated dispensing slot, said sheets being fed by gravity towards said slot, one of the edges of the slot being straight and having a lip standing in forwardly advanced relation to the general plane of the panel and the other edge being in the form of a lip convexly curving from each end inwardly toward the center, and the lip extending inwardly within the general plane of the panel and protruding inwardly to a maximum at its center to afford a medial crest portion for contacting the body portion of the lowermost folded sheet of a stack at a point beyond the edge of the grasping tab.

FRANK L'. BROEREN. 

